Kelulut hive at the USJ 3/4 community garden. Bees are less able to leave their hives to forage when it rains. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
KEEPING stingless bees or kelulut in an urban garden requires careful hive placement, suitable plants and restraint when harvesting honey.
Universiti Selangor Engineering and Life Science programme coordinator Tuan Badli Shah Tuan Jusoh said the Heterotrigona itama species at the USJ 3/4 Rukun Tetangga community garden was relatively manageable and suitable for honey production.
Compared with smaller kelulut species, Heterotrigona itama’s larger honey pots make honey easier to harvest.
However, setting up colonies is more than just finding available space.
Tuan Badli said hives should ideally be placed about 5m apart to reduce competition and conflict between colonies.
The area must also have adequate sources of nectar and resin, which kelulut use to construct their hives, including the small pots for honey storage.
Mango trees were particularly useful because they provide both nectar and resin, he said.
Other suitable plants found at the USJ 3/4 garden include matoa, mata kucing, Brazilian lychee and air mata pengantin, also known as coral vine.
For neighbourhoods with limited planting space, residents can grow flowering creepers such as air mata pengantin, kesidang and kerak nasi.
Tuan Badli: Urban kelulut projects need proper food sources and hive management.
Tuan Badli encouraged communities to adopt “double cropping” by planting species that serve both human needs and support pollinators through food or resin sources.
While kelulut were stingless, they were not entirely docile, he said.
If disturbed, the bees may swarm or cling onto people, and he advised against strong fragrances, which could agitate or confuse the bees, when opening hives.
Tuan Badli said bees approaching handlers should be brushed away gently rather than killed, as injured insects could release distress signals that attract others from the colony.
“If there are bees, do not kill them. Brush them off gently.”
Timing is also important when harvesting kelulut honey.
Tuan Badli said honey should not be collected during prolonged rainy periods because bees were less able to leave their hives to forage.
Heavy rains dilute nectar sources, forcing the colonies to depend on honey already stored inside their hives.
“Bees suffer when it rains because they cannot get nectar.
“That is why we do not encourage harvesting on rainy days,” he said.
Tuan Badli said only a portion of honey should be harvested each time to ensure the colony has food to sustain itself.
He added that raw kelulut honey required proper storage because its moisture content was typically above 22%.
It should be kept chilled because untreated honey could ferment if left too long in unsuitable conditions, he said.
Treated or standardised honey has a lower moisture content, allowing it to be stored without refrigeration.
Tuan Badli said laboratory testing and certification would become important should the USJ 3/4 RT decide to market its honey beyond the neighbourhood.
For those starting out, however, the priority was learning to care for the kelulut, keeping colonies healthy and harvesting without compromising their survival, he added.
